The present invention refers to a sanitary device enabling women to urinate in an upright position.
The invention particularly relates to a sanitary device for women, comprising a foldable tubular body. which, when in use, assumes a substantially funnel-shaped form, to be positioned in a manner adherent to the vulva, in order to receive the urine and direct it away from the body, and thus to permit a woman to urinate conveniently even standing up.
The use of these devices is particularly indicated in public bathrooms and in all hygienically risky situations, where it is preferable to avoid any contact or even proximity between the intimate female parts and surfaces, such as toilet seats, which are dirty and not disinfected, in order to limit the risk of infections or diseases as much as possible.
As known, in the field of intimate feminine hygiene, there is an increasingly felt need for the production of sanitary devices which, on one hand, enable urination in a substantially upright position in a safe and hygienic manner, without risking undesirable leaking or splashing of urine, are easy to apply and occupy an extremely small space when not in use, and on the other hand, are reliable, simple to produce, inexpensive and made of materials which do not pollute the environment.
In order to satisfy the above need, proposals have been made in the field for various models of sanitary devices for women comprising a foldable tubular body which, when not in use, has a substantially flat shape, but when in use, expands and assumes an approximately funnel-shaped form.
Therefore, in the position intended for use, the tubular body has a first aperture of large diameter, to be applied in contact with the vulva so as to include the external orifice of the urethra and thus to collect the urine coming from the bladder, and a second aperture of smaller diameter than the first one, for the release of urine from the device and its suitable direction into the toilet bowl.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,216 describes a device of the type indicated above, obtained through the folding of a sheet of water-repellent material along a plurality of folding lines.
Such a device presents four side walls of various lengths, so as to obtain an aperture for the collection of urine that is oblong and transversal relative to the axis of the device. In addition, in order to guarantee sufficient adherence of the device to the vulva, and thus to avoid undesirable leakage of urine, the device provides a semicircular tabxe2x80x94which can be folded back upon itselfxe2x80x94extending from the two longer walls. When in use, the tab is raised at an angle greater than 90xc2x0 relative to the longer walls and is made adhere to the vulva, together with the upper edge of the two shorter walls.
Although advantageous in some aspects, the device just described presents a series of drawbacks as described below.
First of all, the fact that the aperture for the collection of urine is transversal relative to the axis of the device causes the device, in use, to take a position up, which is almost horizontal relative to the position of the body. This has the result of making it extremely difficult to control the stream of urine released from the device so that the urine flows precisely into the toilet bowl.
In other words, the structure of the sanitary device when in use does not permit the simple and reliable control of the trajectory of the urine stream, which inevitably varies as a function of the pressure and rate of the flow of urine from the urethra.
In this connection, it is actually debatable whether the user, even after long practice, is able to use the device according to the prior art in an acceptable manner, without soiling the toilet.
This drawback drastically limits its use, making it fit for wall-type toilets (public urinals) only.
An additional drawback of the sanitary device according to the prior art is that of its highly complex structure and manufacture, which results from the presence of walls of variable length and conformation and from the necessity for transversal fold lines in order to accomplish a correct opening of the semicircular tab, with consequently high production costs.
In addition, the use of such a device is particularly complicated and elaborate. Several operations, involving the use of both hands, are necessary in order to be able to open the device correctly. Once it has been opened, it operates in one position only, and therefore cannot be immediately used, as it may require to be first turned in the correct direction. Because of its nearly horizontal position, the correct application of the sanitary device in the pubic area requires a certain amount of practice.
Moreover, it is necessary to ascertain absolutely that the semicircular tab is completely raised before use, in order to prevent the pressure exerted against the pubic area, with a view to ensuring the necessary adherence of the device, from causing the tab to fold back upon itself, thus causing leakage of urine.
Finally, it should be noted that the absence of a longitudinal fold line with respect to the shorter walls, makes the correct opening of the sanitary device difficult, as it requires the exertion of a high, but nonetheless controlled, force against the side edges of the device when the latter is in the flat position, along with a certain degree of dexterity.
Precisely due to these disadvantages, sanitary devices according to the prior art, intended to enable women to urinate in an upright position, have not found practical application to date, notwithstanding the ever-growing need in the field of intimate feminine hygiene.
The problem underlying the present invention is that of providing a sanitary device which enables urination by women in an upright position, in a simple, reliable and extremely hygienic manner, and which, at the same time, is practical, simple and inexpensive to produce.
The above problem is solved, according to the invention, by a sanitary device which comprises a foldable tubular body which, in the position intended for use, assumes the form of a reversed, truncated pyramid comprising an aperture for the collection of urine and an aperture for the release of urine, defined respectively by an upper and a lower edge of the pyramid, the aperture for the collection of urine defined as being on a plane substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the tubular body and preferably as having a substantially quadrangular or rhomboidal shape.
In particular, this problem is solved by a sanitary device of the type described above, obtainable by folding a sheet having four fold lines which extend longitudinally on the sheet and subdivide it into five sections: a first section defined between a first side end of the sheet and a first fold line, which serves as a side closure tab of the tubular body; and second, third, fourth and fifth sections, substantially trapezoidal in shape and symmetrical with respect to each other, defined by the first and a second fold line, by the second and a third fold line, by the third and a fourth fold line, and by the fourth fold line and a second side end of the sheet, respectively, and serving as side walls of the tubular body, the first section being attached to the fifth section with the second end of the sheet arranged so as to correspond to the first fold line.
As will be seen in greater detail in the description below, the present invention enables the achievement of a foldable sanitary device with the aperture for the collection of urine substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the device, thus providing the advantage of extreme ease, safety and practicality of use.
According to a further aspect thereof, the present invention also concerns a method for the manufacture of a sanitary device enabling urination by women in an upright position, as claimed in Claim 9.
The features and advantages of the invention will be clear from the following indicative and non-limiting description of an embodiment of the invention, made with reference to the attached drawings.